Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Introducing the 2013 Valentine Card Collection!

Before I even get started here I'm going to be honest with you guys - as excited as I get for holidays, I'll fully confess that when I walk into a store the day after Christmas and see an explosion of Valentine's Day merchandise, I let out an audible groan. So if you are in this camp as well, please forgive me if it seems a little early to be talking about V-Day around these parts. The thing with designing greeting cards is that you have to start early. Just like with Christmas cards, you need to give people a little room to decide which cards to get, and for those who send them out, you need to assure that there is time to write messages, address them, and put them in the mail. Plus, it's kind of fun to have another holiday to focus on once New Year's is over and life returns to normal after two straight months of holiday madness, right? I'm a big fan of Valentine's Day myself, and that has held true even during times in my life when I wasn't in a relationship. Truth be told, although I'm married now, I almost never see my husband on Valentine's Day, because he's almost always on tour on February 14th. My opinion is that regardless of whether or not you spend the day with a sweetheart, you just can't go wrong with celebrating love.

Now that I have that disclaimer aside, I have to admit that I'm pretty thrilled to officially introduce the 2013 Bubby & Bean Valentine Card Collection! I started designing Valentine cards back in 2011 after the launch of my Holiday Card Collection a few months prior. The line was very small back then, and even last year I only created a few designs. But after a really successful season with my 2012 holiday cards (huge, huge thanks for your support!), I decided in early December to expand the Valentine line this year and got right to work. This season's cards are very much inspired by the hand-lettered/hand-drawn and typographic designs I created for the holiday collection. I wanted to continue with a similar feel (one that I feel most represents my style): a combination of rustic, natural texture + clean modern minimalism. The majority of the cards feature eco-friendly recycled kraft card stock, and the rest use crisp bright white card stock. I've always loved sending out Valentines to my friends and family, and I'm really looking forward to sitting down and writing these out in a few weeks.

The cards you see here, along with the rest of the collection, is available in the Bubby & Bean Art Shop as singles (and some in sets of 10), but can be packaged in any quantities that are requested. And just like I did with the holiday card collection, because I love you guys somethin' fierce, I'm offering blog readers a 15% discount for the next week (today through January 14th) with code BLOG15. If you're not a Valentine card person but still like to get a little somethin' for your sweetheart or friends, there are also lots of love-themed art prints in the shop. I guess I just love love. (You're totally free to roll your eyes. Or gag. I get it.)

Thank you for taking the time to read my gushing/shameless plug! I truly appreciate your support and feedback, as always.

How absolutely adorable!!! =) I definitely am one of those people that are screaming because the craft stores already have Easter up, but before we know it, Valentine's day will be right around the corner! Your collection is really cute! Best wishes with it! =)

You know what...The day after New Year's, my daughter switched our shop avatar and banner to the Valentine's Day themed set, and I wasn't all for it. She was just excited to show her graphics, I guess and was tired of seeing the bright green...But I'm with you, I'd rather wait. However, with an online business, we kind of have to start things a bit early, so that's why I agreed to leave it up. So...I totally know what you mean. I started seeing Etsy treasuries for Valentine's BEFORE Christmas even (yes, I was really surprised). But with all that said, I'm really excited about your VDay cards for this year!~Kim

I just stumbled upon your blog and I am really excited to read about you and get to know you :) My heavens, everything you design is so adorable! And this blog is seriously so pretty, love love love it!!! I am your newest follower and I would love for you to stop by sometime and follow along if you'd like :)

These are beautiful! I love the natural paper and minimalist look. I know what you mean about the holidays starting early. It seems I was barely past the Christmas rush when I realized I needed to vamp up my media on my valentines day jewelry. It just felt strange! :)